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Best "How to GM" Books?

Kimi

What are your favorite "how to gm" books and what did you love about them? Was it the advice? The layout/organization? TELL MEEEE!

EricfromNJ

OK! OK! DON'T HURT ME!!!
Never Unprepared because it goes in depth into discussions of Brainstorming and things like realizing when you do your most brainstorming and making sure you get your information down.
Odyssey for simple things like "Knowing When to End a Campaign" (which I am terrible at. I just keep going like the energizer bunny...) and "Risk Management of Your Campaign."

Good books.

Ayslyn

Play Dirty 1 and 2. John gives a lot of great advice about a wide range of topics gaming. From making the game "matter" to the players, to some of the best advice for con games that I've seen.

Anything by Ken Hite or Robin Laws. These two are just SO insanely creative, clever, and just damned funny that it makes all the great advice they give really accessible.

BattleMatt

Play Unsafe by Graham Walmsley. It uprooted many of the bad habits I had as a GM, and it is a good read.

HouseDok

I'd like to give a mention to Apocalypse World, at least the first edition. Lots of solid advice on letting story evolve, and only driving things when there is a lull or want to ratchet up the tension.

whodo

I really enjoyed Never Unprepared and Odyssey, keep meaning to pick up Unframed and Focal Point to round out the Engine Publishing collection. I think the writing in both is really well thought out and presented in quite a logical fashion. They're also broad enough to be applicable to a range of games and styles while staying focued on specific elements of GMing.

MasterVidar

Sockjack

TLDR: RPG books that aren't overly complex in scope the and allow for scaffolding to improve GMing skills.

INDEX CARD RPG (ICRPG) by RuneHammer Games
- The book has a ton of information on how to structure scenarios and how to mix things up for combats.
- There are also a ton of drawingss for those who are more visual learners.
- There are also jewels of good table techniques [ex. balancing spotlight through turns].

The Black Hack Second Edition by Gold Piece Publications
- Jam packed with inspiration for old school adventures that are easy to pick up and play.
- Worksheet to walk you through building dungeons/towns/whatever you need for your adventure.

Maze Rats by Questing Beast Games:
- Simple 2d6 charts for inspiration that encourage critical thinking/ problem solving for both player and GM.
- Emphasizes the importance of rolls, teaches GM to not call for unnecessary rolls.

Edit: Except the Con episodes. Con episodes being terrible is a universal constant across all podcasts.

JDGriz

I really liked the gming section for Unseen Armies for both world creation and general gm planning. The concept of the advisarial gm having a place, just not at the table was a super cool.

I also just read apocalypse world, I only think I got as much of it as I did out of it by having Jason and Adam running the chaos in my head while reading.

Lazy dm stuff was good as was the return.

I tend to consume systems more than ht books though.

hoobuk

I would agree with @HouseDok about Apocalypse World, but I actually think Monster of the Week is fantastic for learning how to craft a skeleton of story while staying flexible. It was the one I found most effective for teaching structure and pacing.

I’ve never actually read any books on GMing. Is that weird? I’ve only learned from reading the GM sections of RPGs.

Azhrei_Vep

hoobuk Doesn't seem that weird to me. Nobody I know has either. They all learned through some combination of example, GM sections of RPG books, and podcast listening. That last one is mostly me, though.

EricfromNJ

hoobuk I am the only one I know in person who reads books on the subject or even listens to podcasts about GMing.

BattleMatt

I can't say that I've "learned" GMing from books either, but it's always good to get new ideas.

NewYorkJoe

"Never Unprepared" - well written and organized. The author, Phil Vecchione, is a professional project manager and major RPG fan and this book shows it. It is great for beginners with professional level advice. The advice, as professional as it is, is easy to follow.

The Lazy DM books by Mike Shea (a.k.a. Sly Flourish). I would have thought Tappy wrote this, but the fans know Tappy does not have the time to write a book. For game prep take it is easy; it is just a game afterall.

Rifts Adventure Guide by Kevin Siembieda - Yes, that Kevin Siembieda. One of the vangaurds of the RPG community gives good advice.

While "Never Unprepared" is RPG generic, the Lazy DM books are D&D oriented, and the "Rifts Adventure Guide" is Rifts/Palladium leaning, the advice in all these books can be used in any game. The interesting thing to me is how the same points will reappear in all three books...and they agree with so many Happy Jacks recommendations.